The reputation of Canada about being peaceful and polities is under question as a shocking incident that took place in Vienna has put a question mark to the image Canada holds.

Canada's exhibit booth at the 18th International AIDS Conference in the Austrian capital was taken over by a group of Canadian HIV/AIDS activists and trashed.

Those who formed the group that trashed the booth were from Act Up Paris, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and Global AIDS Alliance.

In an e-mail that was sent from Vienna, Alex McClelland, who was kicked out of the conference and was one of the activists, said that he and his colleagues trashed the booth because of Canadian government refusing to sign on to the Vienna Declaration.

Countries are called on by the Vienna Declaration to incorporate scientific evidence into their policies on illicit drugs, in an effort to stop the spread of HIV.

McClelland, who is also HIV-positive, said, "Many still had the wrong perception of Canada as a progressive leader. Obama just announced funding harm reduction programmes. So we are now lagging far behind from USA."